Hinkfuss v. Shawano County

772 F. Supp. 1104, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11230, 1991 WL 153413
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Wisconsin
DecidedAugust 9, 1991
Docket90-C-0814
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 772 F. Supp. 1104 (Hinkfuss v. Shawano County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hinkfuss v. Shawano County, 772 F. Supp. 1104, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11230, 1991 WL 153413 (E.D. Wis. 1991).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

CURRAN, District Judge.

The plaintiffs have filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the defendants, Shawano County, Walter E. Schardt, Donald J. Krueger, William J. Mott and Thomas G. Turna. 1 The plaintiffs seek monetary damages for the suicide-death of Peter J. Lamczyk while he was in the defendants’ custody in the Shawano County Jail. The defendants have moved for summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c). For the reasons stated below, the court grants the defendants’ motion.

UNDISPUTED FACTS

The following facts are uncontroverted. 2 Peter Lamczyk was arrested at 1:09 A.M. on September 13, 1989, by the Shawano City Police on a charge of disorderly conduct (domestic violence). The arrest was pursuant to a complaint by Lamczyk’s ex- *1107 wife, Akina Hinkfuss, who had called police stating that Lamezyk had chased her with a knife and threatened to kill her brother. Lamezyk was 29 years old at the time and had been drinking beer. According to the rap sheet this was the 25th time that Lamezyk had been arrested since 1975. He was transported to the Shawano County Jail, was booked and placed in the south receiving cell. During the book-in procedure Lamezyk stated that he had been drinking beer and that he had taken valium for his nerves. He explained that he had cancer and would need to see a nurse or a doctor. Lamezyk did not appear to be intoxicated and appeared to be in a good mood. According to the officers who were present, “he was smiling and joking____” Lamezyk was placed in the south receiving cell rather than in a regular jail cell because there were no bunks open in the cell block and it was standard procedure to place someone who had been drinking in a receiving cell. The south receiving cell was approximately 25 feet from the jailer behind two locked doors.

At approximately 9:15 A.M., Lamezyk pounded on his door and told the deputy that he was in pain and wanted to be taken to the emergency room. The deputy determined the situation was not life threatening and told him a nurse would be called. Lamezyk appeared to be satisfied with this response and the deputy went back called the nurse. The nurse stated she would come to the jail as soon as she was finished with her other appointments. At approximately 11:00 A.M., Lamezyk again complained of pain. The deputy told him the nurse would be coming and asked if someone else could bring him his medication. Lamezyk said there was not. At about 11:45 A.M. Lamezyk was given lunch at which time he was observed lying on the bunk in his cell. At approximately 12:40 P.M. one of the deputies brought Lamczyk’s attorney to the cell to meet with him, at which time they discovered Lamezyk hanging above the toilet in the northwest corner of the cell. He had used his bed sheet to hang himself.

It was later discovered that Lamezyk had attempted suicide while incarcerated in the Shawano County Jail on January 10, 1986. None of the defendants in this action, however, had actual knowledge of this attempt. In fact, Lamezyk had been incarcerated ten times in the Shawano County Jail since the attempted suicide and at no time since January 10, 1986, did he attempt suicide again.

The plaintiffs seek relief under two causes of action. First, they contend that Shawano County established a policy and permitted a custom of improperly training their jailers in suicide detection and prevention. This policy was one of deliberate indifference to the injuries and medical needs of detainees in the Shawano County jail. Second, the plaintiffs contend that each of the individual defendants took actions which they knew or reasonably should have known within their sphere of official capacities violated the Constitutional rights of Peter Lamezyk.

SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARDS

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c) provides that a party moving for summary judgment must show that all pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with affidavits, if any, present no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. See Celotex Corporation v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); McGraw-Edison Company v. Walt Disney Productions, 787 F.2d 1163, 1167 (7th Cir.1986). When the nonmoving party is faced with a properly supported motion for summary judgment, the nonmovant may not avoid judgment by resting on his pleadings. If the nonmovant bears the burden of proof on an issue at trial, there must be an affirmative showing, with specific references, that a genuine issue of fact exists requiring a trial. See First National Bank of Cicero v. Lewco Securities Corporation, 860 F.2d 1407, 1411 (7th Cir.1988).

A “genuine” factual issue is one that properly can be resolved only by a finder of fact because it may reasonably be resolved in favor of either party. See *1108 Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The summary judgment procedure is not meant to be a trial based upon affidavits. “Credibility determinations, the weighing of evidence, the drawing of legitimate inferences from the facts are jury functions, not those of the judge____ The evidence of the nonmovant is to be believed and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in his favor.” Id., at 255, 106 S.Ct., at 2513. At the summary judgment stage of a proceeding the trial judge’s function is to determine whether there is sufficient evidence favoring the nonmoving party for a jury to return a verdict for that party. See First National Bank of Arizona v. Cities Service Company, 391 U.S. 253, 288-89, 88 S.Ct. 1575, 1592-93, 20 L.Ed.2d 569 (1968). This inquiry implicates the substantive evidentiary standard of proof that would apply at a trial on the merits. Thus, in a civil case the record must show that a jury could find by a preponderance of the evidence that the party with the burden of proof is entitled to a verdict in his favor. See Anderson, 477 U.S., at 252, 106 S.Ct., at 2512. If the nonmovant’s evidence is merely colorable, or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted. See Id., at 249-250, 106 S.Ct., at 2510-11.

“As to materiality, the substantive law will identify which facts are material. Only disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
772 F. Supp. 1104, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11230, 1991 WL 153413, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hinkfuss-v-shawano-county-wied-1991.